Lately I have been entertaining myself wondering why we have not yet been visited by intelligent mechanical extra terrestrial life forms.

Of course, this is all just speculative, science-fiction type thinking for fun

I have been interested in the possibility of artificial super-human intelligence all my adult life. My son recently posed this idea: If intelligent life is the usual result of evolution, then is intelligent mechanical life the natural next step?

So if intelligent mechanical life is the natural result of evolution, wouldn't they be able to cope with space travel, even if it required millennia? And if they can cope with it, why haven't they come for a visit yet?

One possibility is that interstellar travel will never be economically feasible, even for mechanical life forms.

Jul 1 2012:
Barry,It is interesting to think about why we have not been visited by other intelligence's. Maybe we have but it was in an evasive way that we can't detect, kinda like we do to other animals we want to study in their natural habitat. Another possibility is that we are still so primitive that we are not interesting enough for a visit. I believe that there has to be some other intelligence out there, but the universe is a very masive place, maybe it is so large and intelligence is so rare that are chances of coming in contact is very small.

Jun 26 2012:
My thoughts are occupied by the concerns and desires that are common to humanity.

Jesus Christ says 'A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruits. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes,and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.' Luke 6:43-45 NLT.

Humans are influenced by their social environment and physical environment; and their reactions to these.

It will be hard to get a honest response to 'what occupies your thoughts' because of the human tendency to want to 'look good'. Gandhi said 'the devil's successes are greatest when he masqurades as an angel of light'.
Even the convicted murderer thinks he/she has a good reason to kill; and the religious extremist thinks he/she is doing God a favour.

My mind is a battleground of conflicting thoughts and ideas; and human thoughts are not 'a constant', every moment, diverse thoughts comes to our mind, and we have a choice as to which of the thoughts should be welcomed in our heart.

Proverbs 4:23 says 'Guard your heart above all else for it determines the course of life.'

Jun 26 2012:
I'm always thinking about how homophobia and other sorts of discrimination slow down the development of our societies across the globe. I also think about the human nature. I spend hours thinking about the way our brain is connected and how awesome it is. Evolution and natural selection are on my mind lots of times. And I spend time thinking about trivial stuff, as well as everyone else does.

Jun 26 2012:
Why do so many people feel they must believe in a God? I am sure if most people would just take five minutes out of their day and critically analyzed their religious beliefs and compared them to their world beliefs, they would have contradictions in their own belief system. I can understand how the idea of a God was conceived back in the early beginnings of mankind- not knowing where rain came from, lightning, fire and so many more mysteries to early man. What I do not understand is how these ideas are surviveing in the 21st century when a lot has been explained by a natural cause that can be explained without having to invoke ideas of a supreme all powerful God. If their is a god for theoretical purpose, I would not want to have anything to do with it because it is obviously has some serious problems.

Jun 26 2012:
I have been thinking of this a while ago. I think people feel they must believe in a God, because this is the only way they can get through their problems, and it is their way to reach happiness and be functional in society. Even though I am not a religious person, I like to observe the way believers think and act, based upon biblical or other documents.

I think this may be one of the most profound and far reaching questions you might ask. In the past the belief in a god has been nearly universal. The behavioral sciences have yet to give us a definitive answer, in part because the answer would still be very divisive.

Jul 24 2012:
Here goes:
the topic of my current book,my lack of grace, my love life, my kids. their education, my schools, TED topics and people, my gardening, my housework, my recovery, my coorcdination of my left hand and whatever pops into my consciousness -the neighbour or her dog or cat, the rabbits in my yard, random kids who come to visit........... it is actually a happy jumble of stuff. I'd hate to have to organize that closet. Where would I start?

Jun 27 2012:
Last night I was worrying about whether my younger daughter would be successful in finding an apartment in another town for August. But the focus of my thoughts at most times tends to be how to connect marginalized groups of people to opportunities to thrive and feel self-efficacy in communities. My thoughts on that issue include thinking about how often it is the poorest and least educated people who are the most vulnerable to those who seek profit at other people's expense. I think of how proud many people are of their choices of how to live, what to eat, when to rest, getting out into the country for fresh air and exercise... and how much more constrained the choices are of the poor and marginalized who would value all those healthy choices just as much.

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